


An Epilogue

by nausicaa_of_phaeacia



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Post "Chosen", Post Season 07, Post Series, Post Sunnydale, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-16
Updated: 2014-03-16
Packaged: 2018-01-15 23:50:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1323850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nausicaa_of_phaeacia/pseuds/nausicaa_of_phaeacia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Buffy takes the train to London. It was all Dawn's idea.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Epilogue

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short little fic, I don't even know what this is. I just felt like taking small countremeasures against what Joss left us with. Of course, I don't own anything, though. I just made this up. :)

She rings at his door. London is not that far away from Rome, after all. Dawn's been insisting, so she bought a train ticket. Ever since her first flight (from Los Angeles to Frankfurt) three years ago, she's come to hate planes. Buffy likes to control her motions, likes to influence gravity, so a train ride it was. The goddamn wind keeps blowing in this godforsaken country where it rains as much as it does in Seattle, and it ruins her hairdo which she spent almost half an hour on. 

Finally (come on, does the wind have to be _this_ cold?) the door opens, but it's ... a _woman_ standing on the threshold. Buffy is about to make up a lame excuse and go back to the train station, but the lady tells her, "Come in, honey, Mr Giles is upstairs." Shyly, Buffy steps inside, awkwardly wriggling out of her heels and surrendering her coat and bag to the open arms of ... _oh_ , wait, she must be the housekeeper (who else would be wearing such an apron). She's almost relieved and about to say something, when the lady (who has a really nice smile) motions for her to take the stairs. Buffy can't really refuse, she's taken this trip after all, and she's not wearing her shoes, so why not get it over with. Dawn's been telling her to go for weeks now, "because you're not shutting up about Giles for even two days in a row, either you're in love or your brain needs some serious reprogramming, Slayer" (Spike's definitely left some kind of legacy).

With each step, she feels her heart plummet a little more, tons of but-what-ifs invading all the space inside her head that Dawnie calls the humble home of a little common sense. Several deep breaths later, lingering in front of a closed wooden door, she finally knocks. An almost grumpy "yes?" invites her in, and as if in slow-motion, Buffy opens the door to Giles sitting behind a desk buried beneath various manuscripts. He looks absolutely baffled, but otherwise as _Giles_ as ever, and manages a shy "Buffy. L-Lovely to see you. I-I take it you've met Mrs G-Griffin." She finds herself unable to form grammatically correct sentences for a moment, and it's all very awkward, but she enters the room slowly, hovering in the doorway. "Sorry, Giles, I .. I should have called. Dawn kept telling me to-" He interrupts her, not sure how to behave around her. It's been such a long time. "No, no-" - he stands up, offering her his seat - "come on in, it's w-wonderful to see you. Such a rare occasion." Shyly, she approaches the chair, deliberately walking around the desk on the opposite side. She sits down, scanning the room with her eyes. "Um, I've heard that you English people treat guests really well, but how did Mrs Griffin know it was okay to let me-"

And there it is. Next to the door. A large portrait, a photograph. Of her, smiling, completely unaware of the camera, and she guesses it must have been taken in Cleveland. Buffy stares at it, unable to fully understand what that means (both her heart and thoughts suddenly racing), and somewhere on the same planet, Giles is babbling to explain how the picture got there, but she isn't listening. She swallows, but then, as if hypnotized, rises to walk over to a flustered Giles (who is gesticulating with his glasses in illustration of his words) and flashes him a bright smile before she hugs him tight. He suddenly falls silent, and it takes him a moment to wrap his arms around her; he doesn't understand. 

Finally, they free themselves from the embrace; Giles looks utterly confused, while not unhappy, whereas Buffy outright beams. "Dawn understood before I did." Cleaning his glasses (to avoid her glance, but she knows that), he asks, "Understood what, Buffy?", but before he can even put his glasses back on, her lips are on his, and he freezes. A moment passes, but then the realization hits him, and he drops his glasses as he kisses her back with a fervour she's only seen him give rise to during combat. When they finally return to this solar system for air, it's the first time she remembers seeing such a genuine smile on him.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :) Please tell me what you think!


End file.
